IHOP patrons and employees in Mississippi recently got the shock of their lives after finding their vehicles falling into the mysterious IHOP parking lot's massive hole, according to Food Beast.
The Meridian, Mississippi IHOP opened a week ago, and on Saturday, the mysterious hole reportedly appeared near the new restaurant's drainage system.
Authorities said a 35-by-400-foot wide and 15-foot deep hole in the pavement with cars and SUVs surprised emergency crews that arrived on the scene, according to Eater.
According to officials, while the mysterious IHOP parking lot hole was not a sinkhole, an investigation into its cause is now being conducted.
"We'd been in there about three minutes. Then everything went black and we heard a boom," IHOP patron Gwendolyn Fikes told The Meridian Star after saying how she and her daughter had just arrived at the restaurant before the hole opened and swallowing her family's Honda Accord.
In an official statement released by IHOP, the restaurant had been open only four days prior to the mysterious IHOP parking lot hole. The newly constructed restaurant will unfortunately remain closed until the area is fixed and that it is determined safe.
IHOP Spokesman Craig Hoffman said in a statement:
"Both we and our franchisee of this location are extremely thankful that no one was hurt in this incident. Our primary concern continues to be the safety of our guests and team members-therefore, the restaurant will remain closed until all necessary repairs have been completed."
"We are all very grateful to local emergency services for their quick response and to the community for their expressions of support. When this new location opened four days ago, we were excited to be able to serve our friends and neighbors in Meridian, and we look forward to being able to reopen as soon as possible so that we can continue to be able to do so and be a member of this great community."
The mysterious IHOP parking lot hole has widened and more cracks have appeared since Saturday.
According to Public safety director Buck Roberts, engineers and contractors will be investigating the cause of cave-in, adding that it is not a sinkhole.
According to CNN, rather than a sinkhole, the IHOP parking lot hole could likely be the result of the restaurant's recent construction combined with rain. Over the past two weeks, the area, which collapsed in the same area as an underground storm drain, had undergone 10 inches of rain
CBC News reported that no one was hurt in the incident.
Check out a photo of the mysterious IHOP parking lot hole here.
Watch a video of the damage below.
